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en japanese brasserie has great yuba on the menu occasionally

Why gold tequila? What actually makes gold tequila the color gold? Be careful what type of tequila you actually purchase. Some of them (Jose Cuervo) simply mix gold colored food coloring in with the white spirit. Others actually blend aged tequilas (reposado or anejo) with the blanco or joven to produce the color naturally. The liquor naturally darkens because of contact with wooden barrels.

I have also made this recipe by simply freezing cubes of seedless watermelon. No strainer, no juicing. Eventually all this stuff is gonna be pureed anyways. I added some mint once too.

This is the authentic recipe from the mama I lived with in Tuscany during my third year in college:

Buy the lady fingers from a grocery store. Pavino is the brand I use and Lice (the mama) used but any kind that isn't dusted with sugar will do fine.

500 gms. marscapone

5 - 6 eggs (depending on size and quality of egg) sometimes I add 5 whole eggs and 2 or 3 yolks because the eggs in Italy are better than what we get here.

1/4 teaspoon of cream of tartar (my addition, it will make the foam more stable and airier, Lice didn't use it)

1/2 cup or so of sugar

Strong Coffee or Espresso

Chopped Chocolate (not too small, you want to maintain the intergrity of the chocolate)

Separate the eggs (I do, Lice didn't). Beat the yolks with 1/2 the sugar until light and airy and ribbons form. It is physically impossible to overbeat yolks. Add the marscapone and mix till combined (do not overmix at this point or you will lose all the air you incorporated)

Whip the whites with the other half of sugar and cream of tartar. Watch the bowl the entire time or you will over mix and you will have to start over again. Whip to a stiff peak.

Whisk 1/3 of the whites into the yolk/marscapone mixture. Lightly fold in the next 1/3 and then the last 1/3. Do not worry if isn't perfectly mixed. It is ok if there are flecks of yellow and white in there. Just DO NOT OVERMIX or you will lose all the air you worked so hard to incorporate.

In a baking pan put down just a little bit of the egg/marscapone mixture.

Next quickly dip the lady fingers into the coffee. They should be ever so slightly crunchy. Taste one to make sure you aren't dipping it into the coffee for too long. There should be about 1/2 an inch between each cookie.

Spread on top with more egg/marscapone mixture. Sprinkle an appropriate amount of chocolate on top. Repeat the lady finger and egg process once more. Top with chocolate. Allow to rest and come together for at least 2 - 3 hours.

Note: this is a dessert that requires balance of all the flavors. Liquer is too strong and you can't taste anything else and should not be used.. The texture needs to be light and fluffy. The chocolate is secondary to the marscapone and coffee flavors. In Lice's house, she actually referred to this dish as marscapone, not tiramisu.

Good luck and please post if you have any additional questions.

You can't bake with fresh cranberries. Fresh cranberries contain a moisture content that messes with the natural leavening inherent to baking. Dried cranberries contain the same flavor but none of the moisture. When dried cranberries are combined with fresh cranberries a higher concentration of flavor can be attained - that is a possible solution as well.

I bought fresh cranberries from the farmer's market today and I might try to make a really flavorful relish using dried, fresh, and other aromatics. Good luck!

Check out any of Harold McGee's books. He speaks very eloquently about searing and the fact that though it doesn't "seal in the juices", it does contribute a depth of flavor and a fond (that brown stuff at the bottom of the pan) that should be deglazed with wine, stock or even water and added to your stew. There is a lot of natural flavor in the fond and to not utilize it would be a real waste of flavor.

En Japanese Brasserie has a private room for that many people and it's pretty cheap too. Food starts at $45 a head.

hanger or bone in ribeye

"he's on the three yard line . . . two . . . one . . . TOUCHDOWN!!"

Whole milk is easier but skim can be heated to a perfect texture as well. Ultimately that is the goal: a warming to the milk via steam and heat that results in a creamy texture full of tiny microbubbles. Follow these steps directly and you will be fine.

1. Make sure both the milk and vessel you are using to steam are both cold.

2. Put the milk into the vessel. Put in roughly 40% of the volume of the container. The milk needs room to grow. A cappucino will require a larger pitcher then a macchiato because you need less milk.
(http://www.espressoparts.com/product/RW_27502/Rattleware_Spouted_Bell_Steaming_Pitcher__25_oz.html) g

3. Begin to steam the milk with the wand angled to cause a vortex in the milk when spun. The bubbles should never get big when you are steaming milk. The spinning of the milk while steaming ensures that there aren't any large bubbles.

4. Place your hand on the outside of the steaming vessel. As soon as it is just beyond too hot to touch, it is done.

5. Knock the jsteaming vessel on a hard surface to knock out any large residual bubbles resting under the surface. Shake the container in a circle to continue the spinning process.

6. Pour out a few ounces of steamed milk. The first few ounces are too frothy to create a rosetta.

7. Loosen your wrist and slightly shake the pitcher left and right beginning at the base of the cup. Continue pouring while shaking less and less.

8. Do that 1000 times and you may be able to make a rough version. Good Luck!

Self Taught